What Was Lost
by Greesha
Summary: While Sam tries to help Cassie get over the events of "Heroes," Dominic complicates things by having naquadah in his blood. See note for spoiler warnings.
1. Author's Note

TITLE: What Was Lost

AUTHOR: Greesha

E-MAIL:

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: While Sam tries to help Cassie get over the events of "Heroes", Dominic complicates things by having naquadah in his blood.

RELATED EPISODES: "Singularity," "Rite of Passage," "Grace," "Heroes, Parts 1 & 2."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Contains spoilers for "Singularity," "Divide and Conquer," "Rite of Passage," "Nightwalkers," "Grace," "Chimera," and "Heroes, Parts 1 & 2." Rated PG-13 for language and drug use. Many thanks to my betas ReeAnn and Danele.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters. I promise to play nicely and put them back when I'm done so other fanfic authors can have a turn. 


	2. Prologue

Twenty minutes ago, the canvas had been blank. Pure, virginal white, waiting for the artist's brush to turn it into a masterpiece. Now it was covered with angry black strokes, and it was the artist who felt empty, emotionless.

The art teacher, completing a leisurely stroll around the room, peered over the girl's shoulder. "Wonderful, Cassandra!" she exclaimed. "You capture your anger so beautifully!"

Since when was anger beautiful? Cassie wondered. She didn't see beauty in the black mess before her. She saw death, hatred, a world that would never be the same again. And at the bottom of the abstract abyss, somehow she could make out her mother's face...

With a startled cry, Cassie grabbed the painting and smashed it down on the edge of the table. The wooden frame split with a sickening crack, and the canvas tore in two. A murmur of voices surrounded her as she pushed her way out the door and ran down the hall.

She pulled the bathroom door open and was greeted with a cloud of smoke, stinging her eyes. A muffled curse was heard from behind one of the stalls, followed by the hiss of a cigarette being extinguished in the toilet. Cassie leaned over the sink and rested her forehead on the mirror, tears threatening to fall. A girl in a too-tight miniskirt emerged, the scent of nicotine emanating like a perfume. Cassie watched the reflection as the girl reapplied her lipstick, not bothering to acknowledge Cassie's presence. The girl left without a word, and Cassie took advantage of her solitude by sobbing like a baby.

Life's not fair, went the old adage. Well, maybe she could accept that if it hadn't been her mother. Two mothers in seven years seemed like someone's idea of a sick joke. Maybe God had a sense of humor after all.

A shudder that might have been a laugh shook her body. God? What god? The one who had destroyed her planet and killed her family? The ones that threatened Sam's life and took her mother's away? Those gods? If some all-powerful being really was in control of the universe, he was doing a pretty half-assed job.

The bell rang. It might have been motivation for Cassie to get going had she still believed that school was worth her effort. But right now, she was beyond caring.

She briefly considered returning to the art room to retrieve her books, but quickly decided that it wasn't worth running into her teacher. The last thing she needed right now as a well-meaning but nosy teacher poking into her personal problems only to find that her whole life was a matter of national security. Besides, it wasn't like she was planning on doing any of her homework anyway. Hell, she thought, why even go to the next four periods at all? She was tired of everyone pretending to care, apologizing as thought enough 'I'm sorry's could make it all better.

She splashed her face with cold water and made her way into the hall. In the crowd of students hurrying to their classes, she was fairly invisible. But a moment later when the bell rang and everyone ducked into their classrooms, she was alone again.

Sometimes alone was a good feeling.


	3. Chapter 1

The park was Cassie's favorite place. Sam had taken her there after the whole bomb-in-the-chest ordeal, and she had immediately fallen in love with the swings. She could sit there for hours, sometimes swinging high, sometimes just rocking back and forth and thinking. Back and forth, back and forth, never getting anywhere. It felt like her life, Cassie thought, and immediately resolved not to let any more bad thoughts ruin her already bad day. 

As she sat, a little boy, no more than three, wandered across the path, stumbling along on short, chubby legs. He stopped next to Cassie's swing, and she looked down at him with saddened eyes. His face was innocent, pure, eyes that had never been forced to witness his dreams being crushed to death. 

"Hi!" he said with a bright smile, dimples like little stars appearing on his cheeks. 

They stared at each other for a moment, and then the boy laughed, face scrunched up in that mischievous but adorable expression that only a child could manage. "Swing!" he said again, holding out his arms to be picked up. 

Cassie opened her mouth to reply when suddenly his mother appeared out of nowhere and scooped him up into her arms. "Don't you run away like that!" she scolded gently. "I was so worried – were you bothering the nice lady?" 

"It's okay," Cassie said quickly. 

The little boy squirmed in his mother's arms. "Mama, swing!" 

"No more swings. We have to go pick up your sister from school. Say goodbye to the lady," the mother instructed, unwilling to acknowledge Cassandra's presence except through a third party. 

Cassie waved half-heartedly as the woman dragged the now-screaming child towards the car while delivering a furious don't-talk-to-strangers speech. As they drove off, she began to swing, slowly at first, then with increasing ferocity. Tears began to form, concealed behind closed lids, as she tried to forget everything but the feel of the wind on her face.

* * *

Sam found Cassie in the park, swinging as if her life depended on it. Sam sat down on the swing next to her. "Hey, Cass. You wanna talk?" 

Cassie kept on swinging as though she hadn't heard. 

Sam sighed and stared ahead. "Your principal called. Apparently you've earned yourself a one-day suspension." 

Cassie stopped swinging. "They think that's a punishment?" 

"They also want you to have a talk with the school psychologist." 

"What am I supposed to tell him? He doesn't have security clearance." 

"Than you can talk to someone who does. Or you can talk to me, if you want." 

Cassie shook her head and started swinging again, blinking furiously to hide her tears. "Talking won't bring her back." 

"No," Sam said gently. "But it could help you work this out." She paused, waiting for the reply that she hoped for but didn't really expect. "I took the day off from work tomorrow. I thought since you're not going to school, maybe we could spend some time together." 

"Don't bother." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means you've never made time for me before. Don't let a little thing like my mother dying ruin your precious work schedule." 

Sam just stared as Cassie walked away, feeling the pain of a physical blow. Recovering, she followed Cassie with a long, purposeful stride. 

"Is that how you really feel?" she asked. 

"Don't talk to me." 

"Cassie – " 

"Don't talk to me!" she screamed. "Leave me alone!" People turned to stare, and Cassie ran. 

"Cassandra! Wait!" Sam called after her. She briefly considered chasing the teenager, but thought better of it. Trying to talk now would only cause more problems. Cassie would come to her when she was ready. At least, that was what she wanted to believe. But it had been several weeks already and Cassandra still regarded every attempted communication as a personal attack. From the moment they found her alone on her planet, she hadn't been particularly talkative. And practically as soon as she began to open up, she was entering her teenage years, when anything and everything was as secretive as possible. But even so, this new side of Cassie seemed so...wrong. 

Was it her? Sam wondered. Was it her fault? Maybe they had just grown too far apart.

* * *

"How's everything going with Cassie?" Jack asked Sam as she stepped into the elevator. 

Sam shook her head. "Not too good, sir. She's completely closed up. She won't even talk to me, and I feel like it's partly my fault." 

"Carter, you can't blame yourself." 

"I just feel like I should have been there for her more." Sam had tried to see Cassie when she could, and there was always chess on Saturdays... But sometime in the past two years, she had pulled away, found more things to do at work instead. She sighed. "It's like I'm married to my job." 

"Never bothered you before," he said lightly. 

"Maybe it should have." 

He tried another tactic. "Cassie's eighteen now. Legally, she's an adult. You're not responsible for her." 

"Than why do I feel so responsible?" 

"Maybe she doesn't want to talk because she needs a little space." 

"You think so?" 

He shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." 

Well, that was helpful. 

The elevator doors slid open. "Thanks, sir," Sam said, and stepped out. 

"You're welcome," he replied as the doors closed in his face.

* * *

So that was it? Cassie thought. Sam was just giving up? 

She'd spent all of the previous day home alone, suspended. Then this morning she'd endured lectures from three different teachers about how bright she was and how she was going to college next year and not to endanger her scholarship with a bad case of senioritis. Senioritis. Like she didn't have a legitimate reason for not caring. 

As she sat down in her first period class, her cell phone rang. She'd forgotten she left it on. She glanced at the caller ID, seeing if it was worth getting into more trouble for answering her phone in class. 

It was Sam. 

Angrily, Cassie cut the power off. Of course she would call during a class. Locked up in that mountain day and night, she had no sense of time. 

The second intrusion came in the form of a hand on the back of her chair. Cassie turned, eyes following the arm to where it connected with its owner. Just her luck – the other last person she wanted to talk to. Her ex-boyfriend, Dominic. 

To his credit, he looked genuinely concerned. "Hi, Cassie. I know I haven't seen you in a while. I just wanted to say I heard about your mom. I'm sorry." 

"You know, I hate it when people say that like it's supposed to change something." 

Was she really as bitter as she sounded? 

"I didn't mean – " he said hastily. 

"Please, just don't talk to me." She turned around and scooted her chair forwards. 

"Cassie!" He reached out and touched her shoulder. 

She stood up, eyes wide with terror, knocking her desk and chair over in one smooth, almost graceful motion. Letting out a strangled cry, she backed away towards the door. Dominic tried to follow her, confused, and she screamed. 

"Don't touch me!" 

"What is going on here?" asked the teacher from the doorway. Cassie backed into him, saw that she was trapped, and pressed herself against the wall. She slid herself down until she was on the floor, knees hugged close to her chest. Dominic reached out a hand to help her, and she curled up tighter. 

"Get away!" 

"You," the teacher pointed to Dominic, "go get the nurse." Dominic hesitated. "Go!" Dominic ran down the hall, casting backward glances over his shoulder. 

The teacher knelt down next to Cassie. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

"Call Sam," Cassie mumbled. "I need to call Sam." 


	4. Chapter 2

Sam picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hello?" 

"Dr. Carter?" came an unfamiliar female voice. 

"Major," she corrected automatically. "I'm sorry, who is this?" 

"This is the nurse at Cassandra's school." 

"What?" 

The voice grew more annoyed. "Her file clearly stated that in the event of an emergency, we were to call you." 

"Yes, I mean, what happened? Is she okay?" 

The nurse filled her in. 

"I'll be right there," she promised, hanging up the phone on her way out the door.

* * *

She bumped into Daniel on her way down the hall. "Whoa, what's the rush?" he asked as she ran past, adjusting his pace to match. 

"I have to go to Cassie's school," she said, pulling on her coat. "Apparently she flipped out, went into hysterics. The nurse is trying to get her calmed down. But she kept saying to call me." 

"Want me to tag along?" he asked. 

A little moral support might not be such a bad thing, she decided. "Sure, why not?" 

Ten minutes later, they were in the nurse's office, the security guard still chasing them down the hall with visitors' passes in hand. Thankfully, the nurse stopped him at the door. 

"Cassie's over there." She pointed to a bed with the curtains drawn around it. 

"Cassie?" Sam called tentatively, moving closer. 

She heard a strangled sob. "Sam?" Cassie's head came into view. "Sam, I'm so glad you're here." She pushed the curtain away. 

"What's going on here?" Sam asked, taking a seat on the bed. 

"It's Dominic." 

"Dominic, your boyfriend, Dominic?" asked Daniel. 

"Ex-boyfriend," she corrected. "I don't know how it happened, but I felt it." Her speech was getting more rapid and hysterical. 

"Calm down," said Sam. "Felt what?" 

"He's a Goa'uld."

* * *

Daniel's jaw fell open in shock. Sam stared. 

"That's – " That's impossible, she was about to say, but the past seven years' experience had taught her that nothing was impossible. 'Are you sure?' she wanted to ask, but Cassie wasn't one to react this way if it wasn't serious, even considering...current circumstances. 

"Are you okay?" she asked instead. 

Cassie nodded. "I'm fine. It was just – it was a shock, that's all." Her breathing was gradually becoming steadier. 

Sam hugged her tightly, rubbing Cassie's hair as the teenager rested her head on Sam's shoulder. "Don't worry, Cass. I'll take care of it. Is it okay if Daniel stays with you for a little bit while I go talk to Dominic?" 

Cassie's grip tightened reflexively, not wanting to let Sam leave, but slowly she relaxed and let go. "All right. Just – come back?" She raised slightly worried eyes, and Sam was reminded of the frightened little girl that she had held in her arms. Had it really been that long? 

Sam gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I will. I promise." She glanced at Daniel, who nodded and took her place on the bed. 

"Do you know where I could find Dominic?" she asked the nurse. 

The nurse, a severe-looking woman of about fifty, regarded her haughtily through a tiny pair of reading glasses that balanced precariously on the end of her nose. "Excuse me?" 

"Dominic," Sam repeated patiently. "He was with Cassie this morning. I'd like to ask him what happened." 

The nurse waved a hand dismissively. "We already know what happened." 

"I'm sorry, but you don't." 

"Excuse me?" Apparently, the nurse had never met anyone who doubted her judgment. Either that or she had a very limited vocabulary. 

"I need to see Dominic," Sam explained again, growing more annoyed by the second. "Do you know where he is, or should I find someone more helpful?" 

The nurse gave her a look of undisguised distaste. "I'll call the main office and they'll have him come down." 

"Thank you." The nurse waited for Sam to leave, realized she wouldn't, and reluctantly picked up the phone to make the call. 

A few minutes later, Dominic stuck his head in the door. Even though it had been two years since she had seen him, Sam recognized him immediately. He looked around uncertainly. When he saw Sam, he stopped. 

"Do I know you?" 

"I'm Sam. I'm a friend of Cassie's," Sam said. "We met a couple of years ago at her birthday party." 

A look of horror came over his face as he remembered. "This doesn't have anything to do with that, does it?" 

"I hope not. Why don't you come in?" 

Dominic looked around, realized he was still standing in the doorway, and sheepishly walked over to Sam. She concentrated, feeling for the presence of naquadah. 

Nothing. 

Well, she did say she wanted to talk to him. She coughed. "Um, I know this must have been..." 

"Weird?" Dominic supplied. 

Sam grinned in spite of herself. "Yeah, weird. I wanted to ask you what happened." 

He shrugged. "I dunno, really. I told her I was sorry about her mom. She snapped at me. Hey, I would, too. I guess she's been feeling pretty crappy lately. And all of a sudden she freaks out, starts screaming. I don't know what I did." 

"She said you touched her." 

"Look, it wasn't like that, okay? I tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Just like this." He touched Sam's shoulder lightly. 

She felt it. 

Sam jumped, and Dominic jerked his hand away. "I'm sorry!" 

"It's okay," she assured him, trying to calm down. Her mind was racing. He definitely had naquadah in his blood. But why hadn't she been able to sense it until he was so close? And why hadn't he shown any signs of sensing her naquadah, or Cassie's? 

She couldn't take him for tests; that would be too suspicious. They needed to come up with a cover story. They could have someone tail Dominic until then, to make sure he didn't try to escape. 

"Thanks, Dominic," she said. 

Dominic scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "That's my phone number," he said. "Could you tell me how she's doing?" 

"I will," she promised. 

When Dominic left, she rushed to tell Daniel and Cassie what she had felt. 

"So is he a Goa'uld?" Daniel asked. 

"I don't know," Sam admitted. "I didn't sense it until he touched me, so I don't think it's a high concentration. But we've seen symbiotes without naquadah before, so I don't know if that means anything." 

"So what are we doing?" asked Cassie. 

"You're coming back with us to the SGC," said Sam. "And we'll think of some excuse to get blood samples from all the students and faculty. Maybe we can figure out what's going on here." 


	5. Chapter 3

"What exactly is going on here?" asked General Hammond as he took his seat at the head of the table in the briefing room. 

Sam and Cassie met each other's gaze, and Sam spoke. "Sir, we believe one of the students at Cassie's school might be a Goa'uld." 

"Is that even possible?" Hammond asked. 

"Another NID operation?" Jack suggested. 

Sam shook her head. "They'd be stupid to try something like that this close to the Stargate." 

"Or maybe they know this is the last place we'd look," Daniel put in. 

"Anyway," said Sam, "all we know for sure is that he has naquadah in his blood. We need a cover story to get blood samples from all students and faculty. Maybe we can find some explanation." 

"I can tell you already have something in mind," said Hammond. 

Sam nodded. "It's no secret that Cassie got sick two years ago. We could say that she's having a relapse, and we don't know what's causing it. We'd have to get blood samples to make sure the effect hadn't spread." 

"That sounds good to me," said Hammond. "I'll make some calls, and then we can contact the school." He turned to Cassandra. "Cassie, I'd like you to stay with Sam for a few days." 

"All right," said Cassie. Sam, who had been bracing herself for an argument, breathed a premature sigh of relief. Cassie continued: "But only if I can help." 

"No offense, Cass," said Jack, "but I don't think there's much you can do here." 

"You wouldn't even have known about this if it wasn't for me," said Cassie with growing impatience. "Anyway, I know Dominic. I can help you figure out what's going on." 

She had a point, Sam realized. And letting her in on this would prove to Cassie that she still had Sam's vote of confidence. 

"I think it's a good idea," said Sam. 

Hammond thought briefly, and then nodded. "All right," he said. "SG-1, get what you need while I make those phone calls. Dismissed." 

"Yes, sir," said Sam, and they got to work.

* * *

It was nearly twelve o'clock when Sam, Daniel, and several medics arrived at the high school. An impromptu blood bank was set up in the gym, and a few minutes later a handful of students shuffled in, apparently being sent down a few at a time. Jack and Teal'c entered moments later, carrying boxes upon boxes of Krispy Kremes. When Sam questioned the Colonel about it, he merely shrugged. 

"It was Teal'c's idea," he said. "And I figured a little bribery wouldn't hurt." 

"We're sorry about the inconvenience," Daniel told the principal. "You understand how important it is to keep this contained." 

"Of course," replied the principal through a bite of his third donut. "No problem at all." 

It wasn't long before Dominic made his grand entrance, running in the door and pouncing on Sam, who did her best not to flinch at the unwelcome sensation of naquadah. "Cassie," Dominic gasped. "Is Cassie all right? I heard about this" – he waved a hand to indicate the blood tests – "and I've been worried sick since this morning." 

"Don't worry. She'll be fine," Sam assured him. "We think she's having a relapse of what she had two years ago, but we can take care of it. We're just making sure the effects haven't spread." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you two still...together?" 

He hesitated. "Not really." 

"What do you mean, 'not really'?" She hated to pry into Cassie's private life, but Cassie wasn't being very communicative lately, and this seemed like the best alternative. 

"I had some – some problems to work out. Cassie thought we should take a break for a while." 

It didn't seem like the whole truth, but Sam let it slide. "But you're still friends?" 

He shook his head. "I've barely talked to her these past few months. I wanna get back together. I keep trying to talk to her, but she keeps putting it off." 

Well, that would explain why the supposed ex-boyfriend was still following her around like a lovesick puppy. This was a part of Cassie's life that Sam had barely caught a glimpse of, and now she knew why Cassie hadn't been too keen on sharing. "You know her mother just died," she said, feeling oddly protective. 

"Yeah, I heard. Not from her. Like I said, we haven't exactly been speaking lately." 

"What I'm guessing you don't know is that Janet was Cassie's foster mother. Her birth mother died when she was eleven." 

"Oh, wow. Man, that's gotta suck." 

Such an eloquent way of putting it. 

She went on. "What I'm saying is, she's been through a lot. Maybe you should give her some space." 

Dominic's face fell. "I guess so." 

"I'll call you," Sam said gently. "Don't worry. And we still need to get your blood, make sure you're okay." 

"Yeah, I know." He moved to get in line, then paused. "You're Cassie's friend, right?" 

I think so, she thought, but answered, "Yes." 

"Then when you get a chance, could you tell her that I still care about her?" 

"I will." 

As he turned away, Sam wondered why it was so much easier to give advice than take it.

* * *

"Who's she talking to?" Jack wondered out loud. He felt so useless just handing out donuts; but then, he knew more about donuts than he did about blood tests. And maybe getting into the conversation would get Teal'c and Daniel to speak English instead of Goa'uld. 

"That's Dominic," said Daniel. "Cassie's boyfriend," he elaborated when Jack responded with a blank look. "The one who..." 

"Aha. Gotcha." 

Dominic left, and Sam joined the rest of the team. "How's it going, Carter?" Jack asked conversationally. 

She shrugged. "Fine, sir." 

Teal'c held out a box. "Have a donut, Major Carter. I recommend the chocolate crème." 

Sam grinned. "Thanks, Teal'c." She reached into the box to grab a donut, but dropped it suddenly as they heard a commotion from the other side of the gym. 

"She's hyperventilating!" one of the medics said, and Sam's attention turned to the girl in the chair, who was taking rapid, panicked breaths. "Paper bag!" they shouted at SG-1, and Sam rushed over with one of the smaller Krispy Kreme bags. 

"Breathe into this," she instructed the girl, who somehow managed to hold the bag over her face. In a minute, she was breathing normally, her body still shaking. 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not so good with needles." 

"It's okay," Sam reassured. She turned to one of the medics and mouthed, "Tomorrow?" They nodded. "Just sit and relax. If you'd rather do it tomorrow..." 

The girl nodded, relieved. "Tomorrow should be okay." 

"Did anyone else think there was something weird about that?" asked Jack when Sam returned. 

Sam frowned. "Sir?" 

Jack shook his head. "Never mind. Back again tomorrow, I see." 

"The good news is," said Daniel, "that's pretty much all of them." 

"Pretty much?" asked Jack. 

"All except fifteen absences and the girl who's afraid of needles." He checked the list. "Johanna Bauer, in case it matters. And the entire faculty is supposed to come down at the end of the day." 

Sam sighed. "After all this trouble, I still hope we don't find anything." 


	6. Chapter 4

"Well, then," Daniel said when they were all gathered in the briefing room. "Either none of them are Goa'uld, or they're very good actors." 

"Pretty big jump," said Jack. 

"While the students were passing by," said Teal'c, "Daniel Jackson and I conversed in Goa'uld." 

"We got a few strange looks," Daniel added. "But no one showed any signs of knowing what we were talking about." 

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What were you talking about?" 

"Um..." said Daniel, color coming to his cheeks. 

"Tau'ri mating rituals," supplied Teal'c. 

Cassandra snorted; Sam shook her head; and General Hammond made a strange, contorted face, as if he was trying very hard not to laugh. 

"And if that won't bring a Goa'uld out of hiding," said Jack, "nothing will." 

Sam gave a little all-right-back-on-topic cough. "Daniel's right. I got the test results back. None of the students have the protein marker of a Goa'uld host." Cassie breathed a sigh of relief, and Sam held up a hand. "But – six of the students, including Dominic, have naquadah in their blood. The school was kind enough to send over their records." Taking papers off the top of her pile, she passed everyone a copy. 

"Any connection between them?" asked Hammond. 

"I haven't gone over them thoroughly yet," Sam replied, "but it doesn't look like it. I'll have to dig deeper, see if I can find a link." 

Daniel raised his hand. "If our cover story is that they're infected, can't we bring them in for more testing?" 

Sam shook her head. "It's risky. They're minors. The parents would have to be involved. Or they could demand that their child be taken to a regular hospital." 

"In which case, our cover is blown, I know. But don't you think since we don't know where the naquadah came from, it's worth the risk?" 

"Not yet, Doctor," Hammond decided. "For now, we'll just keep an eye on them while Major Carter finds a link." 

"I can help," said Cassie, looking over the papers. "I know some of these people." 

"Friends of yours?" Jack raised an eyebrow. 

Cassie shook her head. "We're not close. But I see them around, you know? A couple of them are friends of Dominic's." 

"Well, that's interesting," said Daniel. 

"Friends of Dominic." Jack cringed. "And yes, it is." 

"Is what?" 

"Interesting, Daniel." 

"There has to be an explanation," said Sam. "I know we can find it." 

"I hope so," said Hammond. "Dismissed."

* * *

Daniel knocked on the door of Sam's lab. Sam was bent over a microscope. Cassie was sleeping sitting up with her eyes open in that manner bored-to-death high schoolers had perfected. When she heard him knock, she blinked and straightened up. "Sam." 

Sam turned. "Oh, hi, Daniel." 

"Been here all night?" he asked. 

"Is it morning already?" She glanced at her watch; it was almost eight. "Wow. I didn't realize. Cassie – " 

"Don't worry. I've been catnapping." 

"Are we getting ready to go back to the school?" asked Sam. 

"Actually, that's what I came to tell you," said Daniel. "The principal just called. One of the students passed away last night." 

Sam gasped. "How? What happened?" 

"Dr. Brightman's doing an autopsy right now. The cover story of the disease let us get the body," he explained. 

A blessing and a curse. Sam didn't envy the person who had to explain the death to the student's family. She followed Daniel to the infirmary, Cassie trailing behind. Sam could see the question forming behind her eyes, being pulled back and finally forcing its way out of her mouth. 

"Who was it?" Cassie asked. 

"Johanna Bauer," said Daniel. "We never got a blood sample from her. She's the one who was afraid of needles." 

"Afraid of needles?" Cassie repeated. 

Sam had seen the brief flicker of recognition on Cassie's face. "You know her?" 

Cassie shook her head. Too quickly, Sam thought. "No." 

'Are you sure?' had almost breached her lips when she stopped. She knew what Daniel would say. The same thing everyone else had been saying: Give her time. She'll talk when she's ready. 

If she forced the issue, she would risk pushing Cassie further away. Still, just how much time was she supposed to give?

* * *

"I've never seen anything like this," said Dr. Brightman. 

Yeah, thought Jack, she's new here. Too new. It felt like Janet had barely been gone when the Air Force shipped in a replacement. Thankfully, his relationship with the doctor was purely professional – he didn't think he could take it if she started trying to replace Janet as a friend. 

"What is it?" he asked finally, bracing himself for some long, detailed explanation filled with medical terms that would go in one ear and out the other. He grimaced inwardly. Why even ask? 

"Did we miss anything?" asked Daniel as he came in the door, followed closely by Sam, Cassie, and Teal'c. From their faces, he could tell that Daniel hadn't had his coffee yet, Sam and Cassie had been up all night, and Teal'c had been interrupted in the middle of his meditation. His eyebrow said, 'This had better be good.' 

"Not much," said Jack. "She's never seen anything like it." 

"Like what?" asked Sam. 

"The symptoms are consistent with a drug overdose," said Brightman. "Except for the fact that there aren't enough drugs in her system to cause an overdose." 

"What is there?" 

"Diphenhydramine. Sleeping pills," she explained. "And an extremely low level of naquadah." 


	7. Chapter 5

"How is that possible?" asked Sam. "Wouldn't I have felt something?" 

Dr. Brightman shook her head. "Probably not. She has less than half the amount of naquadah as Dominic, and he has so little that you didn't feel it except in very close contact." 

Sam looked over at Cassie. Her face was a blank slate – too blank, like someone with something to hide. 

"You knew, didn't you?" 

Cassie's façade crumbled as everyone turned to stare at her. "I guessed as much," she said quietly. "She – she was a friend of Dominic's. She helped get him into this mess. Her boyfriend's a drug dealer. When I found out, I told Dominic he could have either the drugs or me. I guess I wasn't important enough." She bit her lip to keep the tears in their place. "He says he's trying. He wants me to give him another chance." 

Realization hit Daniel first. "So the rest of the people with naquadah in their blood..." 

Cassie nodded. "They're all druggies." 

"Why did you not tell us before?" asked Teal'c. 

"You think I want everyone to know my boyfriend's a crackhead?" 

"Ex-boyfriend," said Jack. He seemed proud of his superior powers of observation. 

Cassie ran out, slamming the door behind her. 

"Thanks a lot!" Sam shouted, and followed Cassie. 

It took Jack a moment to realize what was wrong. He opened the door and shouted down the hall: "That's thanks a lot, sir!"

* * *

"Cassie?" 

"Go away!" 

I've given her enough space, Sam decided. It was time to get to the bottom of this. She sat down next to Cassie. The teenager was slumped up against the wall, head in her knees. In front of her was a locked door. Thank goodness for base security, Sam thought, or they might not be having this conversation. 

Conversation! Oh, yeah. Was that what they were doing? 

"Cassie, I just wanna talk." 

"Oh, now you wanna talk. Now, when it's a matter of national security, you wanna talk. It's not like you would ever wanna hear about my life otherwise." 

Sam shook her head. "You know, you're right. I'm sorry." 

Cassie raised a red face, brushed away a tear with the back of her hand. Her lip quivered, but she didn't speak. 

"I haven't really been paying attention to you. Ever since Janet adopted you, I guess I've been trying to stay out of the way. Especially these past few years, I've been...scared of relationships." 

"You're afraid of me?" 

"Afraid for you. Everyone I ever loved has died." Her mother, Janet, Martouf – she had killed Martouf with her own hands. There was no one else to blame for that. 

"Not everyone," said Cassie softly. "I'm still here." 

"But – " Sam began. 

"What about your father?" Cassie interrupted. "What about Pete?" 

"Let's not bring Pete into this – " 

"What about Jack?" Sam blinked into the silence, and Cassie continued, "And Teal'c and Daniel?" 

"Daniel did die. And that's different." 

"Different how? You don't have to be my mother, Sam. I just want you to be my friend again." 

It couldn't be that it? To just be a friend? It was a different kind of responsibility, with different kinds of problems. She'd been able to work some things out after that experience in the Prometheus, but losing Janet had made her more confident that love and friendship could only end in pain. Was she more concerned for their lives, or her own loss? 

"I think I can do that," she said finally. 

Cassie put her arm around Sam's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Sam." 

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, Sam thought as she cried. She was supposed to be comforting Cassie, not the other way around. This was supposed to end with Cassie trusting her again and opening up, not holding Sam in her arms as if she were the mother. 

But she knew that's what friends were for.

* * *

"So, all we have to do now is figure out where they're buying the drugs," said Jack. 

They were in the briefing room – again – discussing what to do – again – although this time, they had more answers. But still, they knew it wouldn't be all that easy. 

"It's just not that simple, sir," said Sam. "We don't know how they're getting the naquadah, or why. And if whoever's in charge is smart, they're working through half a dozen middlemen. The dealers the students are buying from probably have no idea what's going on. Even if we can pick one up, it'll just let the real culprits know we're on to them." 

"You need someone on the inside." 

Sam's head jerked up. "Cassie, don't you even think about it." 

"It can't be one of you," Cassie continued as if she hadn't heard. "And I have the perfect cover. My mother just died, I'm depressed, I have friends who are into drugs. And you can trust me." 

"Major Carter is only worried about your safety," said Teal'c. "What will happen if your duplicity is discovered?" 

"That's when you guys come in. By that time, I should know enough to get to the bottom of this." 

"It's too risky," said Hammond. 

"But it'll work, won't it?" Her eyes moved from face to face around the table, stopping at Sam. 

Sam averted her gaze. "Yes. I think it will." 

That was enough for Hammond. "Cassandra, you have a go."

* * *

"Cassie!" 

Still the last person she wanted to see. She slammed her locker shut and growled, "What do you want?" 

"What's going on with you?" Dominic demanded. "You break up with me and then you go get involved in the same thing?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said stiffly. 

"The hell you don't." He grabbed her arm as she started to walk away, and she barely managed not to flinch. "I know what you're doing. Now I want to know why." 

"Oh, so now you're stalking me? One more item on my list of why you're an absolute creep!" She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. Go away, she pleaded silently. 

Apparently, her powers of telepathic suggestion were seriously lacking, she thought as he continued to chase her down the hall. "Cassie, I'm only asking you because I care. I wanna help." 

She whirled around to face him. "If you know what's good for you," she hissed, "you'll stay away." 

"I won't do to you what you did to me." 

His words replayed like a broken record in her head. He was right. She had abandoned him. And now he was trying to help her. 

"All right, Dominic," she said. "We need to talk." 


	8. Chapter 6

Skipping school and going out for coffee hadn't been what she had in mind, but hey, what the hell. 

"So, can you tell me what's going on?" asked Dominic as they sat. 

She took a sip of her latte, stalling for time as she figured out how to explain. "I'm not getting into drugs," she said. "I'm going undercover." 

"No shit!" 

"Yes, shit! Keep your voice down. Sam, my friend Sam, she works for the Air Force." 

"Since when does the Air Force do drug busts? What exactly does this friend of yours do?" 

"Deep space radar telemetry. And it's not a drug bust, really. We need samples for analysis." 

"This wouldn't have anything to do with blood tests and you freaking out on me, would you? Because that's a bit too much of a coincidence." 

"That's classified." Which was as good as saying yes, she cursed herself as the words left her mouth. 

"Holy crap. You're in deep, aren't you?" He took a large sip of coffee, and grimaced. "That's hot." 

But Cassie wasn't listening; something had just occurred to her. "You can still help me." 

"What?" 

"You can help me get the drugs." 

Dominic shook his head. "I dunno, Cass. I just got away from all that." 

"You're right. I'm sorry. I never should have suggested it." 

"On the other hand..." He looked thoughtful. "Is your Air Force friend gonna kick those guys' asses?" 

Cassie smiled. "I hope so." 

"Then it's for a good cause. Count me in." He tried the coffee again; it was just right. "Well, I'm guessing 'deep space radar telemetry' doesn't really mean 'deep space radar telemetry.' " 

She shrugged. "You're a smart kid. You figure it out."

* * *

Cassie jumped up and turned off the TV when she heard the unmistakable jingle of keys in the door, half expecting it to be her mother. Her heart sank when she realized that this was Sam's house, and Sam was at the door. 

Her mother was dead. 

"Hey, Cass," called Sam as she dropped her bag on the table. "I heard you cut class again today." 

That was it? No judgment, no reprimand? Oh, well. She might as well play along. "Yeah. I had to talk to Dominic about something." 

"That important, huh?" 

"Yeah." 

Pause. 

"Wanna talk about it?" 

"Not particularly." 

"Okay." Sam backed off. "Well, if you change your mind..." 

"He's changed," Cassie blurted. "He's not doing drugs anymore." 

"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" 

"But I could have been there to help him." 

Sam shook her head. "You did. You gave him a reason to quit. Breaking up with him might have been hard, but in the end, it was probably better for both of you." 

"I still like him," Cassie whispered. 

"Why don't you tell him that?" 

Cassie shrugged, and then laughed at the irony of the situation. "Look who's giving out relationship advice." 

It wasn't an insult; it was an eye-opener. Maybe Sam was better at this stuff than she let on. 

"Did you eat dinner yet?" 

"Not yet. I was just gonna have a bowl of cereal or something." 

Sam made a face. "For dinner?" Although, that was probably what she'd be having if she were still alone in the house. "Why don't we order a pizza or something?" 

"Sounds even better." Pause. "Sam? Would you mind if I stayed here for a while? It gets pretty lonely at home." 

Sam could relate to that. "Sure. Stay as long as you want," she said, feeling triumphant, like a barrier had just been broken through.

* * *

The noise was an unwelcome intrusion that yanked Cassie out of her much-needed sleep. She slapped her hand in its direction, and realized that it wasn't her alarm clock when the noise refused to stop. Belatedly she realized that it was her cell phone. She checked the time – who would be calling at six o'clock in the morning? 

"Hello?" 

The voice on the other end was frantic. "Cassandra? This is Dominic's mother. He never came home last night, and I'm worried sick. Do you know where he is?" 

Just the time to be observant, Cassie thought crankily. What were you doing when your son was on drugs? You probably don't even know we're not dating anymore. 

"I'm sure he's fine," she said out loud. "Just calm down. He's probably – oh, crap!" 

Dominic was out buying drugs for her. What if something really had happened? 

"That's not very comforting!" his mother shrieked. 

"No, don't worry. I think I just remembered where he is. I'll call you when I find him." She hung up to silence any protests and started getting dressed. 

"What was that all about?" Sam called sleepily from her bedroom. 

"Dominic's missing," said Cassie. "We have to go find him."

* * *

The morning grew brighter as they drove around to every place Cassie could think of, some of them twice. Still no Dominic. 

'This is bad, this is very bad,' Cassie kept repeating in her head, even though she knew that getting all worked up wouldn't help the situation. 

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Sam said. "Why don't you see if he's at school?" 

Cassie checked her watch – she was ten minutes late already. Her teacher wasn't going to be happy, but oh well. Cassie had more important things on her mind.

* * *

The halls were empty when she entered the building, praying that Dominic would be there. Trying to be inconspicuous, she opened the classroom door – 

"Cassandra Fraiser!" the teacher said sharply. 

"Yeah?" She tried to be nonchalant, but her heart was racing, eyes furiously scanning the room, hoping to find a friendly face, and instead coming to rest at an empty desk. 

"You've been late without a pass for the past three days. And this morning you don't even have your books with you. Would you like to tell me what's going on that is more important than my class?" 

"Shit," she whispered. A wave of giggles swept across the room. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I'm sorry. I have to go." She ran out, leaving loud protests in her wake. 

Where was Dominic?

* * *

On her way out the door, she got another phone call. The number was blocked. She answered it anyway. 

"Who is this?" she demanded. 

The voice on the other end was distorted, deepened in a way that made it sound so Goa'uld-ish that it made her jump. 

"If you ever want to see your boyfriend alive," it said, "you'll do what I say." 

Cassie pressed the phone closer to her ear. "I'm listening." 


	9. Chapter 7

"They want naquadah," Cassie informed General Hammond and SG-1. 

"I thought they had naquadah," said Hammond from his seat at the head of the table. 

"Supplies running out?" suggested Jack. 

"That's just it," said Sam. "Where did they get the naquadah in the first place?" 

There was a clattering of footsteps on metal grate as Daniel arrived. "Sorry I'm late. But I think you'll all want to see this." He waved a piece of paper. 

Jack raised an eyebrow. "We see it, Daniel." 

"Um, right. Well, I just got off the phone with Agent Barrett. He faxed me this." 

Jack's eyebrows threatened to push back his hairline. "The NID?" 

"Seems your first guess was right all along. A while ago, the NID was researching the medical benefits of naquadah." 

"We've never seen any evidence – " Sam began, and cut herself off. Both she and Cassie had naquadah in their blood but no symbiote. 

Teal'c voiced her thoughts out loud: "I do not recall Major Carter falling ill since she was host to Jolinar of Malkshur." 

Cassie nodded. "And the only time I was sick was from Nirrti's retro-virus." 

"True," said Daniel. "But the two of you have unusually high concentrations of naquadah in your blood, and they were put there by the symbiote" – he gestured at Sam – "or, in Cassie's case, a Goa'uld who knew what she was doing. In the NID lab experiments, they found that injecting animals with small amounts of naquadah didn't affect antibody levels, but it did increase the effectiveness of certain medicines. So they could take less of the drug and still get the same effect. The problem was, the body's reaction varied for each subject. There was a high risk of overdose, because even the tiniest bit of a drug would be amplified by the naquadah. So when scientists asked to continue their tests with human subjects, they were denied. And here's the fun part – after the experiment ended, several of the agents involved went rogue." 

"So they're using illegal drugs to test the naquadah?" Cassie exclaimed. 

"I don't think so," said Daniel. "There'd be no way to keep a controlled situation." 

"But what if they wanted to make some money?" Jack wondered. "Buy drugs, mix them with naquadah, and sell them for the same price but in lower concentration. Same effect, more cash." 

"The girl who died must have had an extremely strong reaction to the naquadah," said Sam. "That's what caused the overdose." 

"If we exchange naquadah for Dominic's life," said Teal'c, "those rogue agents will continue in their illegal activities." 

"That's why we're not going to give them what they want," Jack declared. "All right, Carter. What's the plan?"

* * *

Everything was set up: microphone, backup, naquadah...there was just one more thing for Sam to check on. 

"Are you ready, Cassie?" 

Cassie was memorizing the tops of her shoes and hugging the naquadah-filled briefcase to her chest like a long-lost lover. Her knuckles were turning white. "I don't think I can do this." 

"Why not?" Sam asked gently. 

"It's my fault Dominic got kidnapped." 

"Cassie, it's not – " 

"Yes, it is! He wanted to help me. He thought I was getting into drugs. So I told him what was going on. I asked him to help me get the drugs. If I hadn't told him, he wouldn't be involved. They probably would have kidnapped me and called you." 

Well, it wasn't like Sam had never been in this situation before. But now wasn't the time for guilt and what-ifs. "You had no way of knowing what would happen," said Sam. "And right now you're the only one who can help him. It doesn't matter whose fault it is, or if it's anyone's fault at all. What matters is that we get Dominic out of there." 

Cassie frowned. "I guess you're right." 

"Of course I'm right," said Sam, and Cassie finally cracked a smile. 

"Okay," she said. "Let's get this over with." 

Sam nodded. They'd have a talk about revealing classified information later.

* * *

Of course, the appointed meeting place was an abandoned warehouse. As Jack had pointed out, "The bad guys always have this knack for cliché." But if they did, it was because the cliché worked; when Cassie opened the huge sliding door, she suddenly felt very alone. 

Alone wasn't such a good feeling after all. 

"Hello?" she called into the darkness. 

"First things first," came a male voice. "Take your wire and drop it outside." 

Cassie complied. "Worth a try," she said, trying to sound lighthearted, but a quiver in her voice gave it away. 

The lights came on, revealing a man in a suit who was standing at the opposite end of the warehouse. "Come here," he commanded. 

In seconds that seemed like an eternity, Cassie crossed the expanse. 

"You have the naquadah." 

She held up the briefcase. 

"Open it." 

She showed him. 

He smiled. "Very good. Now give me the briefcase, and I'll tell you where to find your boyfriend." 

This wasn't part of the plan. "Wait a minute," she demanded. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you won't kill him as soon as you get the naquadah? You were supposed to bring him here." 

"I never said I would bring him here, did I? I only told you that an exchange would be made." 

A technicality, but he was right. Suddenly Cassie felt very stupid. 

"All right," she said finally. "Where is he?" 

He held out a silent hand for the briefcase. 

Cassie gave it to him. The loss felt like an amputation. 

"He's in the basement of the apartment building on the corner of Main Street and Fifth." 

She exited at a brisk walk that soon evolved into a run. When she turned back to look, the man was no longer there.

* * *

They found Dominic tied up and blindfolded, a bit bruised and shaken but otherwise fine. Until Cassie attacked him, that was. 

"Dominic!" she screamed, and threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry!" 

His cracked lips curved into a smile. "Hey, Cass. Don't worry about it. But do me a favor?" 

"Anything." 

"Untie me?" 

She laughed and, with the help of Jack's pocketknife, undid his ropes, then hugged him again, while Dominic looked a bit embarrassed at all the attention. Sam hated to break up the party, but they had one more thing to take care of.

* * *

"Freeze! This is the police! We have you surrounded!" 

Minutes later, two handcuffed men were brought out of the building. Cassandra smiled at them as they walked past, and they scowled back. 

"How'd you find them?" Cassie asked Sam. 

"We added a radioactive isotope to the naquadah," Sam explained. "All we had to do was track the source." 

"I'm guessing more secret, classified information?" asked Dominic. 

Sam looked questioningly at Cassie, who shrugged. "You didn't think I told him everything, did you?" 

"What I wanna know is," said Dominic, "do you guys do stuff like this every day?" 

Jack shrugged. "More or less." 

"Our job is making the world a safer place," said Teal'c. 

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Teal'c, what did I tell you about watching too many super hero cartoons?" 

"Hey, it's the truth," said Daniel. 

Not the whole truth, Sam thought. But if that was their job, then they were succeeding. 


	10. Epilogue

"So, are you and Dominic back together?" Sam asked casually over breakfast.

Cassie blushed. "I guess so. Well, we're going out tonight, anyway."

Sam's grin widened. "Really? Where are you going?"

"There's a drive-in movie theater off the highway. I've never been to one, but Dominic insists they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. They're playing Star Wars."

"Really? You know that's Teal'c's favorite movie? And I don't think he's ever been to a drive-in."

"You wouldn't."

"Would I?"

Cassie glared threateningly.

"All right, I wouldn't." Pause. "So, what did you tell Dominic, anyway?"

"Same thing you tell people. Deep-space radar telemetry."

"I won't even ask how that makes sense."

"It's probably better that way." She took a bite of cereal. "You know, your boyfriend knows about the Stargate."

"I hope I didn't set a bad precedent."

"Nope. Just thinking."

"That serious, huh?"

"Are you?"

"I dunno."

"Me neither." Cassie picked up her empty bowl and put it in the sink. "Off to school, then."

"Need a ride?"

"No, thanks. Dominic's picking me up."

"Hey, Cass?"

Cassie stuck her head back in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad we could talk."

"Me, too. You wouldn't mind if I moved in permanently, would you? I mean, until I go away to college. Since I have to sell the house anyway."

"If you wanted to keep it..."

Cassie shook her head. "No. I need to let it go, and move on. Anyway, if Mom's spirit were anywhere, it wouldn't be in the house. It would be at the Base."

Sam nodded. "I think you're right."

Cassie started to leave, then rushed back, holding a flat package wrapped in plain brown paper. "I almost forgot. I made this for you. Don't open it until after I leave."

Sam gave a questioning look, but waited until the front door closed to tear off the paper. Underneath was a painting of a child in a woman's arms.

Cassie and Sam.

Tears came to Sam's eyes as she realized that this was Cassie's way of saying that she could still depend on Sam. True, they couldn't make up the time they had lost. But there would always be new problems to be solved, new memories to be made. Now they had each other. And that was all that mattered.

THE END 


End file.
